MOUNT VERNON – A pair of homers by Nolen Hershberger and some late inning defensive heroics by his teammates helped lift Key Realty to a 17-14 victory in the MVBA championship game on Wednesday at Phillips Park.
Rain that came through the area on Tuesday eventually pushed back the start time of the final. Hershberger's heroics, however, made it a match worth the wait.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Hershberger hit his first homer of the evening to tie the score at 13.
“I had a feeling in my heart that I was going to hit that one,” Hershberger said. “He put it out there and I launched it.”
That homer electrified Key Realty at bat and in the field. Although Cunningham got the lead back when Thomas Farner (1-for-2) walked, moved up on a steal and scored on a passed ball, Key Realty’s defense didn’t allow Cunningham a hit over the final two innings.
Josh Hitchcock in centerfield and Strauss in left made good defensive plays for Key. In the bottom of the fifth, Noah Hershberger scored to tie the game at 14. Later, Colton Epley scored to put Key ahead, 15-14.
Then, Nolen Hershberger hit his biggest shot of the night – a two-run blast over the left field fence – shattering the back window of a pickup truck and bringing his teammates out to a small mob scene at home plate.
“By far, I hit the second one the furthest,” Nolen said. “I drove that one hard.”
Cunningham Insurance jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first inning, highlighted by a leadoff triple by Hudson Calkins (2-for-4) and a pair of singles by Travis Burak (2-for-4) and Gabe Kiser (1-for-2).
Cunningham was still on top 7-2 before Key Realty rallied to tie it up with five runs in the second. Kenton Strause (2-for-3) and Zaden Comer (2-for-4) hit back-to-back singles. Noah Hershberger followed with his second triple in as many innings.
“I just tried to make contact,” Noah said. “I wasn't power-hitting. I was just trying to meet the ball. I was just trying to get on base.”
Epley followed him with a double.
“Everyone was hitting the ball and scoring,” said Epley, who was the winning pitcher. “That made me push myself harder and harder.”
From there, it was a battle between the league’s best teams.
“We were the No. 1 seed going into the tournament and that was based on regular season wins,” Key Realty coach Jimmy Epley said. “We lost our very first game in the tournament (to Cunningham), so they put us in the losers bracket. We had to fight and claw our way back.”
Cunningham Insurance hit right back in the top of the fourth with a one-out triple from Hudson Caulkins, a double from Burak and a single from Jake Hubbard (2-for-4), taking back the lead, 11-9.
“We improved all year long,” Cunningham coach Ty Calkins said. “Really, with a rec league like this, that's all you can ask for. Our season got cancelled last year and there were a lot of kids that didn't play baseball for almost a year and a half. Seeing those kids improve throughout the year, that's why we do it. That's why we coach. We want to see Improvement. In the end, it was the two best teams in the championship. It was a battle back and forth and that's all you can ask for.”
Fittingly, it was Nolen Hershberger that made the game’s final putout, grabbing a line drive by Hubbard to end the game.
“Before the game, Coach Jimmy was telling us how they're going to rip the ball and all that,” Nolen said. “Our defense had to be ready to tackle that job. The outfield made some good plays. Colton and the infield did the rest.”.
